Third Shore Records
How to find the value of your records
A lot of people have emailed Thirdshore Records about pricing their records. So in response, here is a brief guide on how to do that.
First of all, there is no ultimate authority on what a record is worth. Different people have published different guides in which they list what they think is collectible and what they think it’s worth.
It’s not like stamp collecting, where the value of a stamp can be assessed pretty accurately. And by that, what we are really saying is that most people agree on the value of a particular stamp. In other words, there is a general consensus of what monetary amount a stamp would fetch in ideal conditions.
But record collecting is an arena that encompasses many different interests and partitions. There’s a lot of different opinions as to a record’s worth.
For example, someone emailed me the other day about their Mario Lanza albums. Although I couldn’t find him listed in any price guide, I wouldn’t say he’s not collectible, especially when you consider they were issued in the early sixties, have terrific covers and are relatively scarce. And, of course, people still collect him. The lack of mention in a published price listing is merely evidence that the author of that particular publication doesn’t believe Lanza to be collectible. But it is clear that to Lanza fans, they could probably have value.
So knowing this about price guides, your first step in determining your album’s value is to go out and buy a reputable price guide. The most popular one is "Goldmine’s Price Guide to Collectible Record Albums" (gee, couldn’t they be more specific) by Neal Umphred. It is published by Krause Publications, 700 E State Street, Iola, WI 54990. It's available at most book stores or you can call for a free catalog at 1-800-258-0929.
Even this guide can be quirky and have omissions. It is not a complete list by any means.
OK, so you have the book. The next step is finding the record’s catalog number. This is not always as obvious as it sounds. The number, which usually includes alphabetic characters as well, is almost invariably printed on the sleeve spine, assuming the spine is legible, and usually on the sleeve or record label itself. It may be accompanied by other, similar looking numbers that are not in fact catalog numbers at all and only have significance to the manufacturer. With a little practice you can usually tell which is which.
It is also useful to have the year of issue, which may or may not appear on the sleeve or label. I say "useful" because this may not be the actual year of issue, since some re-issues have the year of original issue printed blithely on them, a despicable practice which I assume is supposed to fool the buyer into thinking they just acquired an original release.
When there are re-issues, as is the case with most classic rock, the guides will tell you how to differentiate between the original and the re-issue.
For example, it might say, "Capitol labels above have turquoise labels," or, "Columbia labels above have ‘360 Sound Stereo’ in white." In other words, the catalog number may be the same, the year on the sleeve may be the same, but the original album had a turquoise label (in this example), and that‘s the only way to tell the difference. Often as not, the original release is worth a lot more than the re-issue since it was probably made in much smaller quantities.
If an album is very desirable, such as the early Dylan records, collectors will have found several variations in the same issue and each of these variations will be priced differently. There are eight different versions of Dylan’s first album with prices ranging between $500 and $25, so you have to know whether it’s stereo or mono, whether there are 3 "eye" logos near the spindle hole, whether the label says "Guaranteed High Fidelity," and so on and so on.
Usually pricing an album is much easier. You look it up in the guide and there it is.
The last thing you have to know is the condition. I cannot overestimate the importance of realistically appraising the condition. Here’s a rough guide to what that means on the Thirdshore website. (Other dealers may have slightly different definitions.)
Unopened (u) : still sealed in plastic.
Mint (m) : record like new (no scratches, no noise)
Very Good plus (vg+) : very minor scuffs. Minimal audible impact.
Very Good (vg) : some wear. Some audible pops and crackles.
Good (g) : plays OK. Noise but no skips or jumps.
Good minus (g-) : less than good. Plays but has surface damage.
Anything less is unplayable.
Now bear in mind that only mint albums are worth full list value, and mint means no record scratches at all. The condition of the sleeve is also important but it is secondary compared to record condition. Most collectors will want to play a record. To get a mint rating, it has to play with no discernible audio noise whatsoever. Some albums can look mint but won't play due to invisible needle damage. I have a Nazz 3 album in this unfortunate state.
This means that at even high volumes, the music can be heard without any background pops or hisses. It is understood that there is always some background noise with vinyl that can be heard if the volume is turned all the way up. It’s built into the technology. Think of the gramophone needle as if it was gargantuan; imagine it’s passage down a curving valley of black plastic, careening and ricocheting off the walls. Some noise is inevitable.
A record also has value if the condition is vg+. This means it is eminently playable with only minor scuffs and no continuous audible damage. If the condition is only vg, the value drops dramatically, usually to about half the value of mint. Most collectors are happy with vg+. Since vinyl is so delicate, mint is hard to find.
It is crucial to realize that records in worse condition than mint or vg+ can generally be thought of as having no value at all. The exception to this rule is when a record is very desirable, and then even copies in poor condition have some interest to the collector. I have some rare albums where the only way I could afford a copy was to buy one in vg or less condition. At time of writing there is a Sparrow album for sale on the website which is only in "good" condition but it’s there because it’s an interesting RA import from the Bahamas. (Anyway, at the kind of party where they play Sparrow albums, nobody is going to mind a few scratches.)
This is the reason why I no longer buy albums via mail - because it’s almost impossible to agree on condition without examining the record first hand. And prohibitive shipping costs prevent one from returning albums whose condition was wrongly assessed.
So what do you actually have at this point? You have the listed value, but what does this actually mean?
The listed price is the ideal price in an ideal situation. I may have a mint copy of L-L-L-L-Loco-Motion by Little Eva, with a book value of $125. But I can’t actually get that price even from a motivated buyer. If I got half of that I would be lucky. The last copy I had I sold for $35 and it was on display for weeks.
And that is the real world. A price guide is just that, a guide to the relative value of an album.
Most record dealers believe albums are way undervalued, especially when you consider what happened to the comic book market in the last decade. In Europe and Japan vinyl fetches about twice what it does in the USA.
So that's it in a nutshell. See how easy it is? Happy record hunting!